Day 38: Tooling around Austin

I just can't say enough about the glorious February weather in Texas. It's 70s every day. To add to it, Austin threw some pretty cool surprises while I was driving around.  I got an unexpected call from a long lost colleague from my days at IBM. It's always great to reunite with old friends. On the way I spotted another Evora on the road.

The great thing about owning niche cars is that you always stop and talk to each other. The owner of the red beauty below was Justin Jensen, an Austin creative-type. Justin and swapped stories on ownership, exchanged numbers, then I headed on to lunch; another friend was made.

mutual envy

I am pretty enthusiastic about rock climbing. After lunch, I headed to the Austin Rock Gym in south Austin. Here's the google review that I submitted afterwards.

"I visited ARG today for the first time in several years. I travel frequently throughout the US and often visit local gyms for a quick boulder or lead session. ARG is a little hard to find because there is no sign out front. However the google maps directions are accurate. The hours are really limited. I am shocked that they don't open until 3 pm. While $15 is pretty standard pricing for a day pass, I found the gym in a sorry state of repair. The carpeted floor was torn in many places. It hasn't been vacuumed in weeks or more. The bathroom clearly doesn't get daily cleaning. There were ample route and problems selections (V0-V8). There were few hard problems, but that is fine if you just want a workout. I am very surprised that Austin doesn't have a competing gym given it's size in 2014."

Needless to add, I wasn't very pleased. I'm looking forward to my next major stop, New Mexico, where I know I will find great (indoor) climbing.